If anything is certain about Saturday's semifinals, it's this: North Carolina will be fully engaged from the minute the Tar Heels step onto the Ford Field floor. From coach Roy Williams to Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and every other returnee, the memory of last year's Final Four — the Heels' stunning descent into a 40-12 first-half hole and ultimate 84-66 loss to Kansas — still burns.

They are properly motivated. And they're extraordinarily talented, boasting a senior class than has averaged better than 30 wins a season and at least five NBA prospects, the best of whom might be 6-10 freshman Ed Davis off the bench.

By Lance Murphey, Reuters

In his three NCAA tournament games, UNC point guard Ty Lawson has 20 assists and just two turnovers.

It's a powerful, championship-foreshadowing combination.

When Hansbrough and every other non-senior on that '08 team elected to put off NBA careers for at least another year, expectations seemed to reach the ridiculous. No matter that the Atlantic Coast Conference is a daunting, three-month gauntlet or that nobody in major college basketball, regardless of league affiliation, goes undefeated these days. There was talk of Carolina sweeping undefeated through this season.

But given its level of play at this late point, the suggestion might not have been so outlandish. The Heels lost Marcus Ginyard, their best defender and most versatile player, for virtually the entire season to an injured left foot. Seven-foot freshman Tyler Zeller's broke his wrist in November, stunting his development. Williams called an end to sophomore forward Will Graves' season in February because of unspecified violations of team rules.

And still, they're dominant. The Tar Heels worked through those complications, plus the absence of stellar point guard Lawson for three late games with a bad toe. They stumbled a time or two. But they've made it apparent in this tournament that they've redeveloped into the force they were projected to be.

Only LSU, in the second round, has posed a threat, and North Carolina ultimately pulled away to win by 14. Nobody else has come within 12.

Lawson's toe is no longer an issue; he has 20 assists and just two turnovers in his three NCAA games. There isn't a faster, better operator at the point in the Final Four. He, Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Davis all have had 15-point or better games in the tournament.

None of the other three teams in Detroit has a player with Final Four experience. Carolina has five who combined for 66 points and 27 rebounds against Kansas last April.

To a man, getting back isn't enough. "They did collectively embrace the idea of: 'Hey, we've gotten to the Final Four and didn't play very well last year; let's see if we can do better this year,' " Williams says.

It figures they will.

***

VILLANOVA

By Andy Gardiner

In three of the last four years, Villanova has been ousted from the NCAA tournament by the eventual national champion: North Carolina in 2005, Florida in 2006 and Kansas last season. This time the Wildcats have the talent to be change that equation.

Villanova arrives at its semifinal showdown with North Carolina having knocked off a No. 1 seed (Pittsburgh), a No. 2 (Duke) and throttled a UCLA program that reached the Final Four each of the last three years.

"I think you could make the case that (Villanova) is playing better than anybody right now," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "Just what they did to UCLA and to Pitt and to Duke, it's hard to imagine anybody playing better than they are."

By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY

Dante Cunningham is a critical part of Villanova's front line, which uses quickness and athleticism to offset their lack of size.

The Wildcats have won in diverse ways en route to Detroit. They trailed American by 14 points in the second half before winning by 13. Then came a 20-point thumping of UCLA and a 77-54 beat-down of Duke.

That set up this tournament's most compelling game — a 78-76 win against Pittsburgh in the East Regional final, a game that featured 15 lead changes and was decided on Scottie Reynolds' shot with 0.5 seconds left.

The common denominators in the four wins have been offensive balance and perimeter defense. Six Wildcats scored in double figures against UCLA, four against Pitt and three against American and Duke.

After being torched from long range in the first half by American, Villanova has held opponents to 25% shooting (21-for-85) from three-point range.

Coach Jay Wright has assembled a team as experienced (three senior starters) as it is deep (eight players average at least 18 minutes a game).

"It's really fun coaching a team when you know if one or two guys aren't hitting shots you know you've got five others who can make plays," Wright said. "Now all eight of those guys are playing consistently defensively. That's what's making us really good."

Villanova's senior frontcourt of Dante Cunningham, Shane Clark and Dwayne Anderson goes 6-8, 6-7 and 6-6. The Wildcats use quickness and athleticism to offset their lack of bulk. Reynolds heads a quartet of guards who can dictate tempo and handle pressure.

Villanova developed its skills over the long march the Big East Conference regular season has become and has honed those talents in the postseason. The Wildcats match up well with North Carolina, went toe-to-toe with Connecticut in a six-point loss and are not in awe of anything Michigan State will bring.

In 1985, the last time Villanova reached the semifinals, the Wildcats were the lowest seed in the Final Four, just as they are this time. Remember what happened then?

"It's kind of eerie how this is playing out," Wright said. "If history repeats itself, I'll take it."

***

CONNECTICUT

By David Leon Moore

Connecticut will win the national championship because it has the best combination of defense, offense, ball-handling and rebounding.

And a coach who has never lost in the Final Four.

The Huskies get a lot of attention because of the shot-blocking abilities of 7-3 center Hasheem Thabeet.

And they did have eight blocks — roughly their average — in their regional final against Missouri.

By Ronald Martinez, Getty Images

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun has never lost a game at the Final Four and looks to win his third national championship.

Bonus points for anyone who, without looking it up, can answer how many blocks Thabeet had in that game.

Robinson, in particular, set the tone with his ability to stick with Missouri guard Zaire Taylor (3-for-13 from the field) on his drives and then rejecting his shots.

That kind of interior defense, plus the ball-hawking abilities of guards A.J. Price, Craig Austrie and Kemba Walker, will make it difficult for anyone in Detroit to shoot better than, say, 40% against UConn.

Thabeet has come a long way, but he's not really a go-to post player. That's OK, because UConn can get points in many ways.

The Huskies can run, particularly when Walker's on the floor. Calhoun has an apt description for the lightning-quick 6-1 freshman: one-man fast break.

A guarantee: At some point in Detroit, Walker will sky above his teammates and rip down a defensive rebound, will not look for an outlet pass, will take it himself, will go past several defenders at midcourt, then keep going, go 1-on-2 in the lane … and finish, probably drawing a foul in the process.

In the halfcourt offense, Price is a clutch performer able to break down most defenders.

A guarantee: In the last five minutes Saturday night, when UConn absolutely has to have a basket in a close game and the clock is winding down, Price will back his defender into the lane, create a little bit of space and knock down a 10-foot jumper.

When shots miss, not many teams can go get it and put it in better than UConn.

A guarantee: Robinson will take the crowd's breath away with a rebound dunk at some point.

Thabeet could get into foul trouble, and the guards could be cold from the perimeter, and the thin bench could provide little or nothing.

Then it will be time for Calhoun to come up with something.

Find a way.

That's been the mantra all season, from starting the season without Robinson, who served a fall-semester suspension, to finishing it without one of the Huskies' best players in guard Jerome Dyson, who went down with a knee injury in February.

There aren't many coaches who find a way better than Calhoun. He's 4-0 in Final Four games.

Soon, he will be 6-0.

MICHIGAN STATE

By Marlen Garcia

Michigan State center Goran Suton lately is playing with the force befitting a 6-10, 23-year-old man.

Senior guard Travis Walton's confidence must be sky high after holding Louisville's Terrence Williams to one field goal in MSU's regional final win last weekend.

These are some of the reasons Michigan State can win the school's third NCAA title.

By Sam Riche, The Indianapolis Star

Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans stunned Louisville to reach the Final Four. Can they do it again in front of a pro-Spartan crowd in Detroit?

Forget for a minute the Spartans' roles as sentimental favorites, playing just 90 miles from their campus.

The Spartans are peaking just in time for their national semifinal Saturday against Connecticut after weathering injuries and illness that repeatedly disrupted their attempts at continuity.

"I heard an interview with (coach) Jay Wright from Villanova the other day," MSU coach Tom Izzo said this week. "He said, 'It sounds crazy, but I think my team's getting better at the end of the year.' I laughed. … I've been saying that for a while."

The biggest question mark for MSU is junior forward Raymar Morgan, who had only four points in two regional games.

Morgan had a pivotal role in the first half of the season. He scored 20 or more in six games and had 10 or more rebounds in five games by early January. He was a favorite to be Big Ten player of the year, an honor that ultimately went to his teammate, Lucas.

Later in January, Morgan struggled with flu-like symptoms that turned into walking pneumonia and eventually mononucleosis. He needed about six weeks to recover. His play has been spotty since.

In the NCAA tournament, his confidence seems to be sinking. It didn't help that a teammate inadvertently broke his nose with an elbow in the regional semifinal against Kansas.

Nevertheless, Izzo believes Morgan can be a factor.

"After coming back and playing pretty well in some games, he struggled a little bit lately," Izzo said. "But I still know how good he is. And I still think he could be one of the surprise players in this tournament."

Morgan isn't the only one slumping. Freshman Delvon Roe, who had two knee surgeries before the season, has hit a wall.

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